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True to form, tear gas has been fired on Salisbury Road. Merry Christmas, Hong Kong.
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Protest-themed carols at the TST Star Ferry Pier. This riff on “Santa is Coming to Town” is titled “Article 23 is Coming to Town.”
“Christmas is here again and you have teargas to breathe, “ they sing.
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At today’s 4pm presser a police spokesman claimed this incident in Yuen Long’s Yoho Mall on Saturday occurred the man shoved refused to give way to the police.
Even minor cases like this—in which a simple apology would suffice—remind why the police will never police themselves.
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This scene didn’t take place in a vacuum but came after a cascade of unfortunate decisions, in which discourtesy (not even desecration) toward an object was met with state violence against the perpetrators which begot forceful resistance then threatened lethal force in return. twitter.com/jeffreychngo/s…
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The Uighur solidarity rally has turned into abject chaos after riot police arrived to rescue the Chinese flag outside City Hall, which was earlier lowered and left on the ground.
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The flag of East Turkestan is flying in Central today at a rally to show solidarity with Uighurs persecuted in China.
The crowd of hundreds is quickly growing as speakers on stage call for the freeing of Nobel laureate Ilham Tohti and all political prisoners.
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Everywhere I go in Taipei I signs of solidarity with Hong Kong: a shrine to Alex Chow Tzs-lok and the suicides that have occurred since 12June; a Lennon Wall on the billboard ad for DPP parliamentary candidate; local businesses showing their support for the protest movement.
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As “Glory to Hong Kong” brings the crowd to their feet, they seem to stand taller and shine brighter than the skyscrapers surrounding them.
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HKers are gathering in Central tonight to mark half a year since the 12 June rally to stop the extradition bill passing in LegCo. It wasn’t the first protest or the largest, but it was the moment this stopped being just about the bill and the five demands began to be articulated.
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I thought this campaign sounded horrifying and dystopian enough when I wrote about it in October. I underestimated the dark, self-destructive path Xi's China is walking.
Turns out they're not just taking the books off the shelves: they're burning them.
thestandnews.com/politics/%E7%9… twitter.com/rhokilpatrick/…
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The turnout for today’s CHRF march is exactly what you’d expect for the first time they’ve been allowed to march since June. It’s not just Causeway/Hennessy Road: every side street from Causeway Bay through to Wan Chai is completely choked with crowds of people inching forward.
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I’m not sure which is more distressing: this scene, or the fact that so many commuters are just casually walking past.
The sight of masked police officers forcefully arresting schoolchildren has become the new normal in Hong Kong. twitter.com/hkfp/status/12…
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Incredible scene from an hour ago as dozens of cornered protesters had to climb over the Hung Hom Bypass onto an adjacent walkway to escape police. Some even had to go around the side, atop a gap tens of meters high. Even during a legal march they’d rather risk death than arrest.
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Less than an hour in, tear gas has already been fired on marchers at TST East. This is a legal protest that received police permission.
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Easily tens of thousands in this march as it makes it way toward Hung Hom, passing through the same battleground as the attempt to relieve the police siege of PolyU on 18 November.
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The first of three protest marches planned for today is soon to begin in Edinburgh Place. Marchers will walk to police headquarters in Wan Chai to protest against the effects of the force’s heavy tear gas use on children. Today’s marches are the first allowed by police in months.
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Pro-establishment figures, pre-election: "The pro-democracy minority must bow to the will of the silent majority of government supporters."
Pro-establishment figures, post-election: "The pro-democracy majority must bow to the will of the vocal minority of government supporters.” twitter.com/SheridanAsia/s…
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Results are still coming in for the #HKDCElection but what we’re seeing already is astonishing: the pro-Beijing camp has lost 100s of seats. All of HK is a sea of yellow. This has been called a referendum on the protests and Lam’s government and the verdict couldn’t be clearer.
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The turnout for District Council elections this morning is absolutely unprecedented. The queue at my local polling station does a complete lap around the housing estate. I didn’t have to line up *at all* to vote in the last election. Demographics are a cross-section of society.
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Whilst heavy riot police deployment in Central has throttled the daily “Lunch With You” protests there, office workers and residents in Wong Chuk Hang are today marching through the post-industrial creative hub, calling for the five demands and the “revolution of our time.”
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The actions of the HKPF have fallen far below accepted int'l norms for the handling of volunteer emergency medical providers. The arrest of these personnel is almost unheard of in civilised countries."
Damning words in The Lancet medical journal today: thelancet.com/journals/lance…
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“The high court ruled it’s unconstitutional? High court of where?”
“HK.”
“The constitution of where? The PRC?”
“The Basic Law.”
“HK has a constitution?”
Seeing mainlanders mind-blown over the CFA ruling is both hilarious and reminds you what is so valuable and special about HK.
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I was shocked on Monday night when the Hospital Authority said that by 2200 there were 116 casualties resulting from the protests, the youngest just six years old.
Tonight’s revised figures: 354 hospitalised, aged 0-67.
0.
l.hkott.hk/zh-hk/l/open-c…
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In yet another assault on a pro-democracy figure in Hong Kong, former Democratic Party leader Albert Ho is reportedly in hospital after being attacked by a gang at the Tin Hau MTR Station: 民主黨前主席何俊仁天后遭圍毆 送院治理 hk01.com/article/400185
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Riot police are continuing to march down Salisbury Road, firing a hail of tear gas and pushing protesters back toward TST. This couple was caught in their car with only surgical masks as a miasma of tear gas enveloped them.
Managing Editor @cnmediaproject 中國傳媒研究計劃主編